The present study investigates whether an intervention based on self-affirmation can reduce narcissistic relational aggression in middle school adolescents by buttressing their self-esteem. Previous research has shown that narcissistic traits are associated with aggressive behavior when a person’s ego is being threatened. Based on this assumption, buttressing someone’s self-esteem, i.e. ... read more making it less sensitive to ego threat, could reduce this form of aggression. A randomized experimental field study was conducted among 565 middle school students (mean age = 12.89 years). Participants were randomly assigned to either the control condition or a self-affirmation intervention, which involved writing about personal values and why they are important to them. It was hypothesized that, after the intervention, narcissism would no longer be associated with relational aggression, since the intervention should buffer for experienced ego threat. Contrary to our expectations, no evidence was found to indicate that narcissistic relational aggression was reduced because of a temporarily decrease in experienced ego threat. Limitations of this study and directions for future research are discussed. show less

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